Color Riot
PHOENIX—The individualism and fl air for experimentation
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of Navajo weavers are vividly expressed in textiles
from the last quarter of the nineteenth century.
These textiles are rooted in ideas and events that the
weavers experienced between 1863 and 1868, the
hard years of their imprisonment in the Bosque Redondo,
and their subsequent return to a reservation.
During this time, weavers saw examples of the design
systems of Hispanic textiles and acquired new materials
such as aniline dyes and Germantown yarns that
touched off their experiments with color and design.
Commercial products at trading posts sparked additional
design ideas for weavers. This was a time when
outside market infl uences were at a low point. The old
indigenous trading networks had been disrupted, woven
garments were being replaced with commercial
cloth, and traders had not yet developed the design
constraints dictated by the rug market that developed
in the early 1900s. During this time of great change,
as the Navajo rebuilt their fl ocks and repaired the
devastation of Bosque Redondo, weavers had an
unprecedented freedom to experiment. Today, Navajo
textiles are viewed as art, and the visions of
these weavers are being showcased in Color Riot!
How Color Changed Navajo Textiles at the Heard
Museum through September 29, 2019.
ABOVE: Bull mask.
Guatemala. Late 19th–early
20th century.
Wood, horn, brass bell, cloth, leather.
Fowler Museum at UCLA, promised
gift of Jim and Jeanne Pieper,
inv. L2018.30.13.
Guatemalan Masks
LOS ANGELES—Today in Guatemala, masks are worn
in spectacular masquerades performed by communities
throughout the country during indigenous festivals,
Catholic feast days, and secular events. Frequently
sponsored by religious organizations known as cofradías,
many of these dance-dramas (bailes or danzas)
date back to at least the colonial era (1523–1821) and
possibly earlier. Elaborately costumed and often highly
scripted, the performances bring to life sacred narratives
and popular histories, and they serve as public
expressions of devotion and communal identity. These
performances and the masks used in them draw their
power from the interplay of disparate cultural forces
and their collective infl uences. The mask forms include
sacred deer and jaguars, saints and serpents, Spanish
conquistadors and Maya warriors, cowboys and bulls,
and countless mischievous monkeys.
Guatemalan Masks: Selections from the Jim and
Jeanne Pieper Collection, at the Fowler Museum at
UCLA until October 6, 2019, features some eighty of
these remarkable masks. They come from the collection
of Jim and Jeanne Pieper, who for the last fi fty
years have traveled to Guatemala, attending festivities
across the country and meeting with carvers, masqueraders,
and Maya priests to assemble a collection
of masks that have accumulated energy from years of
use. The collection and its extensive fi eld documentation
are promised gifts to the Fowler.
LEFT: Transitional textile.
Navajo; American Southwest.
C. 1890.
Handspun wool, aniline dye.
177.8 x 137.8 cm.
Collection of Carol Ann Mackay.
Photo courtesy of the Heard Museum.
LEFT: Dead Spaniard mask.
San Cristóbal, Totonicapán
department, Guatemala.
Early 20th century.
Wood, paint.
Fowler Museum at UCLA, promised
gift of Jim and Jeanne Pieper,
inv. L2018.30.47.
LEFT: Dragon mask.
Rabinal, Baja Verapaz
department, Guatemala.
Early–mid 20th century.
Wood, inner tube rubber, leather,
tin, paint.
Fowler Museum at UCLA, promised
gift of Jim and Jeanne Pieper,
inv. L2018.30.37.
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